North Bay hospital emergency department says expect delays throughout the summer, possibly longer

The North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) is warning patients they may be in for longer wait times than usual for at least the next few months.

In a news release Thursday, hospital officials said people visiting the emergency department (ED) with non-urgent conditions should expect delays in both July and August – with officials now adding that it is hard to know if the wait time will be lower come the fall.

The centre said it is seeing higher than average patient volumes along with ongoing human resource and capacity pressures have resulted in longer wait times in the ED.

“Our wait times are sometimes double digits on a good day and I expect over the summer they may get a little bit longer," said  Dr. Lisa Harman, the director of the ED at NBRH in an interview with CTV News on Sunday.

"Some of our worst days have been well over 10 hour waits.”

Harman said there are number of issues at the hospital that together have lead to the issuing of the wait time alert. 

"When patients first arrive at the ED, the sickest – or most emergent – patients are seen first,” reads the release.

“Patients who come in with an issue that is not urgent will be triaged accordingly and when volumes are as high as they have been, unfortunately that means wait times for lower acuity care goes up.”

The message comes as other hospitals across the region and the province have reported similar challenges.

“Summer can be a very busy time for the ED, when individuals are put at a higher risk of injury due to an increase in popular outdoor activities and an influx of people visiting northern Ontario,” said Harman, in the news release.

“These factors, coupled with ongoing staff and physician shortages, means we are operating above capacity and seeing double-digit wait times in our emergency department.”

Harman notes the have seen many recent hires in their nursing department which is encouraging and they are seeing the rewards there. She said the hospital has been developing its own recruitment and incentive package to hire more doctors.

"As far as physicians we have been advertising to universities across Ontario," said Harman.

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Harman said she knows it can be frustrating to wait when volumes are high – but staff see patients as soon as they can.

“We want to help you, we want to be there for you,” she said.

“We will provide the fastest quality care that we can, but please be aware that it is busy in the ED and things can change minute to minute.”

Additionally, the centre said it is important for people to know about their care options.

Patients who do have access to a primary care provider such as a family doctor or nurse practitioner are encouraged to book a visit for non-urgent care, or attend one of the region’s walk-in clinics.

Area residents can also seek health-related advice from by calling Health Connect Ontario – formerly known as Telehealth Ontario – by dialing 811 or chatting online.

NBRHC has an online wait time tracker available to allow patients to see the current estimated wait time to see a physician – officials advise that peak wait times are usually experienced from Sunday to Tuesday with the longest wait times occurring from afternoon to early evening.

Jess Fraser is a local mother who recently took her daughter to the ED at NBRHC.

She said the experience was exactly what the hospital is warning it may be.

“When we walked in the wait time (tracker) said four hours, longest seven seven – but we ended up waiting 11 and a half hours, some other people were there for 15 hours," said Fraser.

"The nurses were amazing, the doctor was amazing, so it was worth the wait in the end."

The Frassers have a family doctor but said they could not get into see them as all of their clinics were full – there is just not enough staff.

Harmans told CTV News there are many plans in place and they are trying to speed up wait times.

“We want to get through people in the waiting room – but it’s just been increasingly difficult to do that,” said Harman.

“So, for less urgent, chronic issues, medication refills we are just having to wait longer.” 

Hospital staff want to remind people that for critical or life-threatening conditions that need immediate attention, continue to call 9-1-1 or go to your nearest emergency department.

– With files from CTV News Northern Ontario video journalist Jaime McKee